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[africanviolin.livejournal.com]

DIY lunchbag

I wanted a little bit bigger bag than a traditional brown bag, so this is about 2 inches or so bigger on both
sides, but still a smallish-medium bag. A good size bag for taking to school or work filled with food.
Finished product dimensions: 7x8x13", approx ETA: 3-4 hours, working comfortably. Skill level: easy to
moderate.

Oh, and this is where I got the idea (BuyOlympia)
I had been eyeing this bag for a long time and just decided to try it myself.




Supplies
sewing machine
1/2 yard visible/outside fabric
1/2 yard lining/inside fabric (optional)
1/2 thinsulate or similar fabric
2+ yards iron-on vinyl (glossy or matte, doesn't matter)
pins, coordinating thread
small sized piece of canvas (8x10 should be plenty big, at least 5x5), possibly more, if you want it.
assorted ribbon, charms, zipper, snaps, etc (optional) for embellishments and 'flair' :)

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting.
[ Step order is not very important (some of it is), so if one step looks easier, start with that. ]

1. Begin by cutting out your thinsulate lining. Dimensions are flexible, since you can make whatever size
bag you want. You're aiming for a paper bag shape, ultimately, whatever size you want it to be. You will
need two front/back pieces and two side pieces (and two other pieces later). My dimensions of the sides
started at 7"x14" and somehow ended up right around 7"x13". My front/back pieces started at 8 5/8"x14
and came down to 8"x13 even. Save your thinsulate, you're not done with it yet.




So your pieces should all be the same height, but slightly different lengths (for a rectangular bag). You can't really tell it from my crappy paint designs.

2. Cut out corresponding vinyl pieces. The ratio will ideally be 2:1, since this vinyl is water-resistant, it will
keep the thinsulate dry-ish. So for every piece of thinsulate you've cut, cut out two pieces of vinyl. I didn't do
this for every piece b/c of a lack of vinyl, but I would recommend it if you're going to make this bag. If
you're only going to vinyl one side, vinyl the side that is more to the inside of the bag, where you're lining
will go (if you have one).



3. Iron together your vinyl to your thinsulate, on both sides. The directions for my vinyl were 8 second
increments. I would not recommend iron-on vinyl after having done this once. I would recommend sewing
in your own clear/matte vinyl, if your favorite store carries it. The iron-on vinyl was very sticky and
annoying.

4. Cut out the bottom pieces. Use two pieces of thinsulate, but only one piece of vinyl per thinsulate piece.
You only need to cover one side of each of the bottom pieces. Why two bottom pieces? The extra bottom
piece is going to sandwich in your only piece of canvas (to provide structural support to the bottom). Cut
your piece of canvas to size.

You can use as much canvas as you want. I wanted a flexible bag that I could still shove in the fridge at
work, but not one that would sag down badly with the weight of a pop can or such. So if you want to
sandwich in canvas between your sides, go right ahead. I just wanted a really cushy, flexible bag.

5. Cut out fabric pieces (5) (and corresponding lining pieces, if applicable) using thinsulate+vinyl pieces
as guides. I used lining, b/c I thought the vinyl+thinsulate pieces looked raw and not very good when I
would be looking in. Advantages to leaving it 'raw' would be ease of cleaning, you can just wipe it out
when something spills. I would def recommend ironing on a lining, if you use iron-on vinyl.
When finished, you will have two sides, one front, one back and one bottom piece of outside fabric (and
the same amount of lining fabric, if you're making one).




6a. If using lining, pin down the cut outs and sew lining in first. Hem your fabric (and lining) before you sew
it on to your thinsulate+vinyl. I used a zigzag stitch on all parts, except where noted.
(Actually, I modified this step. I pinned down my lining on one side and my outside fabric on the other with
one set of pins and sewed them both to the thinsulate+vinyl at the same time.)

6. Sew "bottom" (hemmed) fabric to one side of "bottom" vinyl+thinsulate;





Now that your bottom has fabric where needed, stitch in your canvas, make a "U" around your bottom and
then shove the canvas in and stitch it up.



When you've got all your fabric attached to your vinyl+thinsulates, iron it down to get some of that
crackliness out of it and give it more bend. You should do this with all pieces after getting fabric on (lining + outside fabric both)

7. Take both "sides" (vinyl+thinsulate) and fabric "sides". Sew together with (hemmed) fabric facing
down;




8. Take both the "front" and "back" and sew together the vinyl+thinsulate and the fabric, keeping the
wrong side of the fabric to the vinyl and the right side facing outermost, as with the sides.
At this point, you have your sides, bottom, front and back fabric'ed.

All that's left is to sew these assembled pieces together.

9. Start with a front/back piece and a side piece. Put it outside fabric to outside fabric. Pin it down so that
your linings are what you are looking at. Pin about a half inch in, and sew it down.


The vinyl outside might also be your lining.

When you unfold it, you won't be able to see your seam on the outside. Do the same with your other side and front/back piece. Once the sides are attached the their front/back pieces, fold the side in half and iron it down pretty well. This will recreate the brown bag thing and make it easier to close. You might have to spend a few minutes
on this.

Before you sew your sides together, sew in your bottom.

Take a shortcut?
You can be like me (lazy sewer) and have to bust out the glue gun and glue the bottom into the bottom of
the square. If you're not too concerned about washing this bag, just bust out the glue gun and glue in the
bottom.


Make sure you sew from the inside to outside so that your seams are hidden. This will give it a more
finished, professional appearance.





That handle thing isn't sewn on, it's just pinned on. I am not sure I'm going to close mine up yet.

When your bag is finished, you can add some decorative ribbon around the top 3 inches or a cute charm.


Ways to close the bag:
1. A sew-in snap
2. A buckle
3. No closure mechinism, just fold it down
4. A handle or two, carry it like a brown bag from the grocery store or a purse
5. Button closure